Return of the Undercover Assistant
by littlethingsbyonedirection
Summary: Tony convinces Natasha to be his PA, again. Can Natasha handle being the PA of Tony Stark and all other hecticness in the lives of the Avengers? Not a Natasha/Tony romance. Pepperony and Clint/Natasha. May have Bruce/Betty and Thor/Jane and Steve/OC
1. Will You Be My Undercover PA (again)?

**Hey, guys! It's Lil' Things here with a brand new story! Undercover Assistant Returns. Formerly the series Natalie Rushman 2.0 by I Took The One Less Traveled.**

**WARNING!**

**Minor spoilers for the Avengers. If you don't want me to spoil the movie, then watch it first.**

**Coulson is alive! Yes, Coulson somehow survived getting shot in the heart. **

**There may be minor OOC, but, hey, I'm not perfect. I'm doing my best.**

**I may add another Avenger. FYI. I just think there's too much testosterone in the Avengers.**

**THIS IS NOT A TONY/NATASHA ROMANCE! I'm sorry, but I can't separate Tony and Pepper or Natasha and Clint.**

**DISCLAIMER! I don't own Avengers. Now, onto chapter 1…**

Will You Be My Undercover PA (again)?

"Stark," Clint groaned, shoving Tony's head out of his path to the TV.

"Why would you watch football? Do assassins even have time to be football fans?"

"Tony, we are human beings." Natasha snapped unrelentingly, without looking up from the Russian book in her lap. She was curled on the corner of the couch against Clint's shoulder, Clint seated in the middle of the couch. Tony was standing in the middle of the room, neatly blocking Clint's view of the TV. Clint looked about ready to put an arrow through Tony's eye, but Tony was oblivious to how close he was to death.

Sighing, Tony moved over and took the seat on the other side of Clint. "Natasha, do you ever get bored?"

"Why would I get bored, Stark?" Natasha asked without looking up from the book.

"I don't know... Bruce has Science! And Thor's always going to and from Asgard, and he has Jane for when he's here. Steve's... you know, being all mopey and travelly—"

"Steve is on a roadtrip, Tony. He wants to see how the world has changed on his own terms. It makes perfect sense."

"Sure," Tony answered. "Clint gets sent on missions and shit all the time, but they don't send you as much... why?"

"Because I work better in deep cover covert ops than in the field. I am a spy, not a soldier. I gather information and maybe kill threats once I get the information. New York was an exception. And they haven't sent me into deep cover because those kinds of missions usually involve months of being gone, and Coulson blackmailed Fury and Hill from his hospital bed (something about blood on his Captain America trading cards) to leave me be and let me recover for awhile," Natasha answered, still not looking back up. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I still need a personal assistant," Tony answered. "And Natalie Rushman was really very good at it. I mean, she was no Pepper, but it's understandable, since Pepper was my personal assistant for eight years."

Clunk. Clint had dropped the remote in shock, and was staring from Natasha (who had barely looked up from her book) to Tony (who was sitting next to her) and back again.

"You still haven't found a competent assistant, Stark?" Natasha asked airily. "That's rather pathetic."

"Well, SHIELD sent a couple of agents, but they were all lame."

Natasha finally looked up. "I miss Natalie, but she wasn't me, Stark."

"Well, can't you be both? Can't you just be, like, super, deadly assassin, Natalie? Or Nat, I have a thing for nicknames, I'll just call you Nat."

Clint was still looking from one to another, mostly staring at Natasha—it was totally out of character that she hadn't taken the remote from his hand and used it to gut Tony for even suggesting it. But then, he remembered when she had come back from being Natalie Rushman—very professional and yet, sexy at the same time, long hair so different from how she usually wore it, competent, and organized, and already used to and reluctantly amused by Stark's antics. It had been the first job in a very long time that hadn't involved the blood, sweat and tears from her non-existent pores. Natasha had enjoyed being Natalie Rushman, and a part of her had enjoyed riding herd on Tony Stark the way that only Pepper Potts had ever been allowed to do. The kind of trust that Tony had always bestowed on Pepper, and in turn gave to Natalie Rushman on almost nothing but instinct alone, had softened a part of Natasha that had been very hardened for a very long time.

And now, knowing who and what she was, that he was willing to offer her that same kind of trust again—it spoke volumes of his respect for her. Natasha hadn't been shown respect for a very long time, either.

"Come on—if I tell people that Natalie's come back, no one is going to make the connection, it's not like the cameras got many shots of you. They were too busy with the aliens, and me and Steve. You and Clint sort of... blend into the background, and the cameras chase after Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor instead. And even if someone _did_ make the connection, what would it matter? Your cover was for my benefit, so that you could get close to me. The cover doesn't really matter anymore."

"On the contrary, Stark, it matters a whole lot," Natasha shot back. "If it got out that Black Widow, infamous assassin, thief and mercenary was playing personal assistant to a playboy billionaire because she was bored, my entire reputation would be ruined. And I do actually _use_ that reputation."

"You didn't say no," Tony said, smirking.

"No, you're right," Natasha muttered. "I didn't say no."

"Are you saying yes?"

Clint could see Natasha worrying her lower lip, which was worrying in itself—Natasha didn't have tells like that. But Natalie might've—he hadn't met Natalie, just seen Natasha with what was left of the Natalie guise being stripped away. Helping her strip it away. But that meant that she was slipping into the roll, already preparing to become Natalie Rushman, Tony Stark's personal assistant, randomly promoted from Legal when he had decided to hand his current one the keys to the kingdom instead. Well, not randomly, actually, Clint was pretty sure that it had had very much to do with the way that Natalie's ass looked in those prim little business casual suits and skirts.

Tony turned and arched his eyebrow at Natasha, who arched back.

"You totally get to confiscate my drinks at parties, buy yourself designer shoes whenever you want to on the company's dime, and you'll have something to do until Fury pulls his head out of his ass and realizes that you need to get out of the house."

"Yes," Natasha answered.

Clint knocked the coffee table over with his shocked kick, and Tony pulled a folder from the side table. "Excellent. Here's the paperwork—it's made out to Natasha Romanov, SI doesn't go below board by doing things like supporting fake identities, but you can be Natalie Rushman on anything else. Just sign here, here, initial here, here and here, and we're good to go."

And clearly, Stark and Natasha had built up something more of a trusting relationship than Clint had thought, in the time that they were working together, since Natasha barely scanned the paperwork before signing on the dotted line. Or maybe it was the same employment contract that it had been last time she had signed it, and she had only looked long enough to confirm that nothing had changed.

"Thank you," Stark said gleefully, taking back the folder. Natasha snorted and unfurled from the couch like some kind of cat.

"I'm going to turn in. I will see you tomorrow at work, Mr. Stark."

"And you as well, Ms. Rushman," Tony said back, and they exited the room in opposite directions, leaving Clint unsure which way to gape.

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	2. Not-So-Normal First Day

**Back in black  
I hit the sack  
I've been too long I'm glad to be back  
Yes I'm, let loose  
From the noose  
That's kept me hanging about  
I keep looking at the sky  
'Cause it's gettin' me high  
Forget the herse 'cause I'll never die  
I got nine lives  
Cat's eyes  
Usin' every one of them and running wild**

**'Cause I'm back**  
**Yes, I'm back**  
**Well, I'm back**  
**Yes, I'm back**  
**Well, I'm back, back**  
**(Well) I'm back in black**  
**Yes, I'm back in black**

**Back in Black by AC/DC in honor of IRON MAN!**

**I don't own Avengers or AC/DC. **

**On with the story…**

Not-So-Normal First Day

It was strange, being back at Stark Industries. This time, the secrets between my boss and me were negligible, and since this cover had been constructed with _him_ as the mark, it was unnerving, to say the least. Also, Clint hadn't stopped gaping at me since I had glided into the kitchen for coffee in dress pants and a blouse with heels adorning my feet. In fact, he was in the air ducts right now, still staring. It made me want to give him a piece of my mind.

I walked off the elevator; clipboard in hand, and onto the level the board meeting would be on.

A secretary walked up to me. She was about 40 and was wearing a slutty dress and enough makeup for five clowns. Was it Barb? Betty? Barbara? Bella? It didn't really matter, though I would laugh if it was Bella. "Natalie, I've missed you so much around here," she gushed at me. "Stark's had terrible assistants since you, and Ms. Potts only has so much time."

I nodded along with the conversation, not really listening, before Tony came out of the boardroom, and I darted to catch up with him. "Mr. Stark, I need your signature on this," I ordered. I handed the clipboard to him with a pen.

"Natalie, you know very well that I don't sign forms before one." At least he didn't say 'I don't like being handed things'.

"You'll sign it, or…" I stopped. Tony raised an eyebrow at me. I was still holding out the clipboard and pen.

Oops. I almost threatened to knock him out and put him in the hospital. That would probably be too much 'Natasha' and not enough 'Natalie'. Though, Natalie _had_ taken Happy Hogan down in two moves before, so she wasn't exactly a pushover. Tony, apparently, still didn't get the point.

Time to take it to the next level. "Sign the form, Mr. Stark, or Ms. Potts will have to fly in from Malibu to deal with you." His eyes widened and he quickly grabbed the clipboard and pen and started looking over the papers.

I blamed my lack of ability to keep a cover on the relaxation. This wasn't an undercover mission, like last time. There was no information to get, not mark to keep an eye on, no one to take out. Natalie was falling off of me in bits and pieces. And Tony didn't seem to care.

Clint made a stupid face at me through the air ducts. I tried hard not to laugh, but I couldn't cover up the smile. Tony looked at me weird.

"And if you don't mind, I'm going to speak with security about your air ducts—I keep hearing sounds coming from them, like maybe you have rats in there, or something."

"Oh, that's just the hawk that nests in the building," Tony said, smirking. I barely held back a snort.

"Tash," Clint said through my earpiece. "Be nice." I sighed

Tony signed the papers and handed them back to me, sliding his arm around my shoulder to offer the air vent a very rude hand gesture that was obscured from the board members. "Holland," He said to one of the board members, "this is my new-old assistant, Natalie Rushman."

"New-old?" 'Holland' asked skeptically.

"Family emergency," I lied smoothly. "I needed to hand in my resignation on a temporary basis and fly home to Moscow. For my grandfather, you see."

"Of course," the man agreed, eyeing me suspiciously. I hadn't met this particular board member the last time that I had been Natalie Rushman. I better keep an eye on him.

Wait, I'm not here as a spy. No mission. It'll take a while to get out of spy mentality.

"Natalie, when's my next appointment?" Tony wanted to know.

"Nine-thirty," I answered (lied) promptly.

"I'll be there at eleven."

"Ten-thirty," I bargained.

"Done." Tony walked out, and Bella, or whatever her name was, stared at her.

"Did you just get _Tony Stark_ to agree to come to an appointment on time?" She said in shock.

"He thinks that it's at nine-thirty," I said cheerfully. Hey, I'm a spy. If I can't outsmart Tony, then I should be called a failure to spy and assassin kind. She looked at me in shock.

"Do you do that all the time?" She said.

"What?" I pretended to be confused.

"Lie to your boss?"

I snorted and gathered up a file. "Sweetie, you have no idea. And Mr. Stark knows more about me than anyone in this building. Besides, it was in the employment contract, that I'm allowed to lie about things like appointments if it'll get him there on time."

"Mr. Stark put that in the employment contract?" She said skeptically. I put the file on top of the clipboard and straightened my shirt.

"I believe that Ms. Potts put that in the employment contract, actually. But Mr. Stark knew that it was there."

I glided out of the room on my heels and turned down the hall to the elevator. I stepped into an empty elevator and pressed the button for the main floor to head for security. Best to do something about this air ducts. And possibly make it slightly more difficult for Clint to bug me when I am working.

"Am I really that annoying?" I heard Clint say through the comm. link. I smiled.

"Yes." I said.

"I'm not as annoying as that old clown, am I?"

"Well, no. But I'm trying to work. If you want to stalk me through the air ducks, at least try not to distract me."

"I'll stop if you join me for lunch."

I paused for a second. "Like a date?" I asked

"If you want to think of it like that, then yes."

I smiled. "I would love to."

**Like I said, Clint and Natasha are just too cute together. I may put in some Pepperony fluff next chapter  
**

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